• For more race details and a map of the route, click here.
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By Katy Healey
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
There are piles of Sam and Louie’s pizza boxes in Kevin Bonney’s office. On chairs, tables and the floor. More than 200 in all.
Each box represents a company, and in the box are employees’ race bibs for the 32nd annual Corporate Cup. It’s the easiest way to organize them, said Bonney, the race director.
The race — one of the largest in the metro area — is Sunday morning.
“It’s for the avid runner who wants to compete in the 6.2-mile race, or you can walk with your family and friends and co-workers on the two-mile course and support a good cause,” he said.
At least 10,000 people have signed up to participate. Organizers expect up to 3,000 more to register by the 9 a.m. start.
The Nebraska chapter of the American Lung Association hosts the race. It’s the group’s only fundraiser, “so we try to do it well,” Bonney added.
The Corporate Cup typically raises between $300,000 and $400,000.
Most of the proceeds go to Camp Superkids. The weeklong camp near South Bend, Neb., is for 7- to 14-year-olds with moderate to severe asthma and offers horseback riding, swimming and bonfires.
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Spencer Ryan, 10, of Council Bluffs attends the camp every year. He was diagnosed with asthma when he was 3 years old. He couldn’t do much, such as play sports or do things outdoors, even with medication.
“Teachers were afraid of letting him participate in gym class,” said his mom, Michele Ryan. “At recess they treated him like he was in this bubble. He was isolated from everybody.”
Since Spencer visited a specialist a few years ago, his asthma is under control, and his mother said he’s “a totally different kid.”
At Camp Superkids, he can be himself. Bonney said the camp counselors teach the kids about living safely with asthma, too.
“It’s an opportunity for them to realize that they’re not the only ones that have the disease,” he said.
Most participants in Sunday’s race registered for the event with their employer.
Alegent Creighton Health, with more than 800 participants, will likely be the company with the most employees registered to run.
Walgreens and First National Bank each has more than 500 employees signed up.
Runners can sign up as individuals, too. Online registration closes at 5 p.m. on Friday. Race-day registration begins Sunday at 6:30 a.m.
The race starts at 19th and Chicago Streets near the Civic Auditorium. The course will be closed to traffic between 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
Visit omahacorporatecup.org to see the race map and for more information.
Contact the writer:
402-444-1071, katy.healey@owh.com
twitter.com/KatyHealey5
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